I’ve posted before about cruisers who have tried to punish my favorite salvage transport, to their woe and detriment. However, they’ve usually been Caldari mining cruisers (Osprey), so once I get through their shields, it’s a pretty quick “game over, man.”

Well, my good Crane (with rigs and fancy gear) was parked quite a ways away, so this morning I took out the spare and started fitting it up. Nothing fancy yet, just T1 stuff I had laying around in the hangar, but more than enough to fend off mining barges and hostile bantams who take offense at my attempts to clean up all the jettisoned ore that’s cluttering up the local belts.

First flight out I find a guy, a young player, mining into a jetcan in an Amarr cruiser (Augoror). The hazard to navigation went into my cargo hold, and then I started cleaning up some wrecks that were in the vicinity. Suddenly he’s flashing red to me, and my shield is being tickled with a single light laser beam of some sort.

Oh really? Okay, I’ll play. So I unlimbered the heavy missile launcher and the warp disruptor and went for coffee.

His shields went away quite rapidly, but the armor was another story. My missile would hit, his armor would dent, there would be a pause, his armor repper would hit, we’re back to (close to) where we started. Am I gaining? And is he cap stable with that repper?

He’s in a newbie corp, so there’s no worry about corpmates coming to his rescue. We have all day, and it looks like we are going to need it. I’m thinking, he’s new, he won’t drop any loot, I’ve made my point (don’t shoot at Ironfleet), I could let him go. I think I can get through this armor, but it’s going to take for-freakin-ever, and I’m worried he’ll get an extra rep cycle when I reload the missiles that will put me back to square one.

Then he made his fatal mistake: he smacked.

Gnoam Cahlan: so now what? we just going to sit here forever? Unscramble me you ass

It was the “ass” that killed him. So that’s how it’s gonna be? OK, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got forever.

Marlenus: Slow and steady wins the race

About six missiles later, it was clear that I was finally gaining. Armor was well below half, and his repper wasn’t firing often enough to bring it back to half.

Last missile in the launcher nicked his structure. Reloading, reloading, reloading — geez, is this crew in a union or something? What a bunch of slugs! Finally, I had missiles back. Alas, he has armor back too.

Three missles later, I’m in structure. Two more, and he’s history. Another victory for the rusty and dented Ironfleet salvage transports!

10MN Afterburner I
Medium Armor Repairer I
Miner I
Expanded Cargohold I
Medium Pulse Laser I

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on Sunday, July 15th, 2007 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Today In Ironfleet.
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